The Golden Driller statue was originally built in 1952 for the International Petroleum Exposition, after which it was donated to the Tulsa County Fairgrounds Trust Authority and permanently installed in front of the Tulsa Expo Center. The statue’s right hand rests on an oil derrick, which had been moved from a depleted oil field in Seminole, Oklahoma.

In 1979, the Golden Driller was adopted by the Oklahoma Legislature as the state monument and has been named as a top ten “quirkiest destination” in the United States.